TY - JOUR
T1 - Stressors, personality traits, and coping of Gulf War veterans with chronic fatigue
AU - Fiedler, Nancy
AU - Lange, Gudrun
AU - Tiersky, Lana
AU - DeLuca, John
AU - Policastro, Theresa
AU - Kelly-McNeil, Kathleen
AU - McWilliams, Rita
AU - Korn, Leo
AU - Natelson, Benjamin
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported as part of the New Jersey Center for Environmental Hazards Research by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The authors gratefully acknowledge Joyce Kosmoski for her assistance in the manuscript preparation.
PY - 2000
Y1 - 2000
N2 - Objectives: Preliminary surveys of Persian Gulf veterans revealed a significant prevalence of self-reported symptoms consistent with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The purpose of this study was to compare self-reported life stressors combat, and chemical exposures, personality and coping between Gulf War veterans with CFS and healthy veterans. Methods: following a complete physical, psychiatric, and neuropsychological evaluation, 45 healthy veterans, 35 veterans with CFS and co-morbid psychiatric disorder, and 23 veterans with CFS and no co-morbid psychiatric disorder completed questionnaires assessing war and non-war-related life stressors, self-reports of environmental exposure (e.g. oil well fires, pesticides), personality, and coping. Results: measures of personality, self-reported combat and chemical exposures, and negative coping strategies significantly differentiated healthy veterans from those with CFS. Conclusion: a biopsychosocial model of veterans' illness was supported by the fact that personality, negative coping strategies, life stress after the war, and environmental exposures during the war were significant predictors of veterans' current physical function. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.
AB - Objectives: Preliminary surveys of Persian Gulf veterans revealed a significant prevalence of self-reported symptoms consistent with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The purpose of this study was to compare self-reported life stressors combat, and chemical exposures, personality and coping between Gulf War veterans with CFS and healthy veterans. Methods: following a complete physical, psychiatric, and neuropsychological evaluation, 45 healthy veterans, 35 veterans with CFS and co-morbid psychiatric disorder, and 23 veterans with CFS and no co-morbid psychiatric disorder completed questionnaires assessing war and non-war-related life stressors, self-reports of environmental exposure (e.g. oil well fires, pesticides), personality, and coping. Results: measures of personality, self-reported combat and chemical exposures, and negative coping strategies significantly differentiated healthy veterans from those with CFS. Conclusion: a biopsychosocial model of veterans' illness was supported by the fact that personality, negative coping strategies, life stress after the war, and environmental exposures during the war were significant predictors of veterans' current physical function. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.
KW - Chemical exposure
KW - Chronic fatigue syndrome
KW - Gulf War
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0033809379&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/S0022-3999(00)00088-X
DO - 10.1016/S0022-3999(00)00088-X
M3 - Article
C2 - 11033371
AN - SCOPUS:0033809379
SN - 0022-3999
VL - 48
SP - 525
EP - 535
JO - Journal of Psychosomatic Research
JF - Journal of Psychosomatic Research
IS - 6
ER -